3 winners (and 2 losers) from Carolina Panthers 2024 OTAs

Loser No. 1

K'Lavon Chaisson - Carolina Panthers OLB

This was a voluntary part of the offseason workout process, but head coach Dave Canales was eager to get everybody into the building. The head coach can ill afford members of his roster getting left behind and playing catch-up. Everyone must be on the same page and working in unison to achieve their short and long-term objectives.

Attendance was relatively high all things considered. There were a few notable absentees. Some were more concerning than others.

One player conspicuous by his absence was K'Lavon Chaisson. The edge rusher has serious questions to answer after gaining five sacks in four seasons with the Jacksonville Jaguars. Instead of joining his teammates to hit the ground running, he opted to work out alone.

That's a strange decision, to put it mildly. Chaisson's roster spot isn't guaranteed by any stretch of the imagination. Considering D.J. Wonnum is still recovering from a torn quad and Jadeveon Clowney also skipped OTAs, the former first-round selection missed a golden opportunity to potentially get plenty of starting reps.

Chaisson and everyone else were well within their right to go about preparations as they saw fit. At the same time, Canales' praise of players getting locked in at the first time of asking was deliberate. Whether this puts the LSU product on the back foot remains to be seen, but his decision didn't go over well with large sections of the team's fanbase on social media.

This is a crossroads campaign for Chaisson. He's already entered draft-bust territory. The edge presence doesn't seem likely to reach his billing as a No. 20 overall selection. Another poor campaign under an accomplished defensive mind such as Ejiro Evero would plunge his NFL aspirations into tatters.

The Panthers seem confident that Chaisson can show more in a different environment. He might also be the latest Jaguars cast-off brought in by Carolina who doesn't maximize another opportunity.

It's a fine line, but more concerns than ever emerged after his OTA no-show.